youngest is a top student at Stanford!”
“That Bianca really married up! And to think, her first husband was so foolish, throwing it all away for a little bit of money…” a guest gossiped, before his wife nudged him into silence.
5/7
17.01
17.01
My father’s face darkened. He turned his anger on me.
“Why did you come back? We haven’t heard from you in over a decade. Now that your life has gone to hell you know where to find us?” He glanced at the empty space behind me. “You came alone?”
“You have three other grandchildren,” I said calmly. “They’re busy with work. They’ll be here later.”
“When did you get married? Why didn’t I know?” Bianca demanded, a strange, complicated look in her eyes.’ You’re saying they’re already working? So you had bastards behind my back all along!”
“You disgraceful thing!” my father roared, slamming his cane on the floor.
Before he could continue, a well-dressed man appeared at the door. His impeccable bearing made everyone gasp.
“Isn’t that the courier service for ultra-luxury goods? They only handle orders over a million dollars. I heard the delivery fee alone is in the tens of thousands…”
“Excuse me,” the man said politely. “Who is Mr. Victor Song? These are New Year’s gifts from your three chil dren. Please sign here.”
Hugo beamed and stepped forward. “Mr. Song’s children are so filial! Just look at the delivery man! These gifts must be very expensive.”
He took the clipboard to sign, but the courier stopped him, a complicated expression on his face. He gently blocked Hugo’s hand as he reached for the packages.
“The recipient is listed as Mr. Victor Song. Sir, we cannot allow anyone else to sign.”
“Who did you say the recipient is?” Serena demanded, striding forward in disbelief. But when she saw the senders’ names on the manifest, she relaxed. “There must be a mistake. The recipient should be my father.”
The Clarity Group, Lionheart Media, and the Stanford Research Division. Weren’t those her sister’s business partner, her brother’s investment firm, and her own university department? It was a holiday, and her grandfa ther’s birthday. They were obviously gifts for her family. They had just sent them to the family home, and since Victor Song was the name on the old deed, they must have made a mistake.
I watched her with a flicker of pity.
“Ma’am, these items are extremely valuable,” the courier insisted. “We can only release them to the person named.”
I smiled, stepped forward, showed my ID, and signed my name. The young man bowed politely and left, relieved. His company never made mistakes. Not with a delivery from those three.
Hugo, however, shouldered me aside, tore open the packages, and displayed the contents for everyone to
see.
“How thoughtful of the children, to prepare such wonderful gifts for us.”
17.01
Chapter 1
1702
There were exquisite jewels, rare vintage wines, and a set of medical supplements that were priceless on the open market.
“This is…” Lara and Isaac looked confused. This wasn’t what they had arranged. But these gifts were far too extravagant for someone like Victor to afford. He was just a high school dropout. How could he possibly know people at this level? It had to be for them. Just a clerical error with the name.
They quickly claimed the credit, a shared feeling of disgust passing between them at the thought that they had ever shared a household with Victor.
As the guests showered them with praise, they smiled and puffed up Hugo.
“Yes, we’re so proud to have a father like him.”
“See? Hugo is the good one. Victor comes home with nothing.”
‘It’s the holidays. No matter how poor you are, you should show some respect.”
‘The eldest son really is a disgrace…”
Hugo smirked and stepped toward me. “Brother, I know things have been hard for you. But as the younger Jeneration, we have to set an example, don’t we? Coming home empty-handed… it’s not a good look. Even it he kids are grown, you still need to show respect to Mom and Dad.”
He covered his mouth with his hand, his eyes crinkling in a mock-sympathetic smile. “Why don’t you get or your knees and wish them a happy new year? It’ll bring some good cheer.”
17:02
Chapter 2
